My 2018 Moments: Starman, Wakanda, DNA And The iDream Machine!
While there were many blessings and trials throughout 2018, there was also a few global moments that affected me personally, altering my perception the world around me.
These “Mount Rushmore” moments are the four that impacted me the most throughout this year.
Starman (SpaceX)
In February Space X launched the personal Tesla of Elon Musk into a “Mars friendly” orbit (decontamination laws prevented him from landing on Mars or directly orbiting the red planet).
For years Elon Musk has been proclaiming that humanity must become a multi-planetary species by settling Mars. However, the only entities with the firepower to reach the crimson world were government space programs – until Starman arrived.
The launch of Starman has confirmed that we are not only living in the space age but we will eventually see humans once again leave Earth and this time makes new homes upon new worlds.
Black Panther (Marvel/Disney)
Before Black Panther, my (ignorant) limited view of Africa was this: Africa is a continent with an insignificant past, an irredeemable present, and an irrelevant future.
After watching the film my curiosity, wonder, & amazement the continent increased a million-fold & I ended up spending numerous hours trying to understand the history, wealth & people of the motherland.
By the time I had watched Black Panther in theaters a second time (something I rarely do), my enlightened view of Africa had become this: Africa is a continent with an important past, an innovative present, and an incredible future.
Note: I wrote more in depth about my thoughts about Black Panther (as well as the topic below) here:
African Ancestry
After watching Black Panther in theaters twice, questions about my ancestoral origins resurfaced, & (long story short) I ordered two DNA testing kits from African Ancestry to discover which tribes I was related to in Africa.
Aside from the sheer joy of knowing where my ancestors were kidnapped from, I began the process of learning the history, culture, present-day politics (sadly this is required anywhere on planet Earth), and economies of ancient nations my ancestors originated from.
I am currently learning the language of one the tribes (Yoruba) in honor of my late Father who passed away this year (but not before knowing he was proudly Yoruba!).
Note: I almost foolishly bypassed ordering my tests for a mundane LTE iPad (I am glad I did not as I would have missed out on my iDream Machine).
iDream Machine
After purchasing my first iPhone in 2007, my love for computers faded as I desired a powerful, secure touchscreen machine with a large hard drive, a built-in wireless modem, and plenty of inexpensive software applications available.
The Face ID LTE iPad Pro fit all of these requirements, and the double tapping Apple Pencil compliments the iPad perfectly.
Using a traditional computer with a mouse/trackpad seems antiquated, cumbersome and frustrating now and after a few weeks, I would loathe going back.
Despite the expense of the machine (fun fact: most carriers allow you to finance iPad Pro at 0% interest for 20 months), the amount of inexpensive software alone makes the machine a significant investment, one I intend on using for at least several years.
What will 2019 bring?
With the new year almost upon me (less than an hour away) I ponder what mind altering events will I experience in 2019. I can only guess.
